This disclosure features a system for filling a container with long thin tubes that are delivered on a tube conveyor. The tubes can be plastic dip tubes, plastic straws or plastic sticks, for example. These tubes are typically extruded, cut to length, and then filled into cardboard boxes that have a width that is just greater than the length of the tubes. The tubes are stored and/or shipped in the cardboard boxes. To properly fill the box with the tubes, the tubes must be guided into the box in a manner that maintains their orientation across the width of the box; since the tubes are light and it is easy for the ends to catch as the tubes are moved, it is easy for one or more tubes to lose the proper orientation and end up in the box in a cross-wise fashion. If even a small number of tubes are loaded improperly in this manner the box filling process quickly becomes disorganized, and the box will not fully fill.